...and here comes the science bit

The world of beauty marketing is full of murky pseudo-science and veiled claims. Are there, as PerfectSlim claims, such things as "Glucide Captors" or "Liporeducers"? Do they work and what do they do? Most women don't care, as long as they believe that the latest "miracle cream" will work.

The fact is, PerfectSlim can improve the appearance of cellulite. What it won't do is get rid of it. "There isn't a cream in existence that can do that - only surgery can," says Dr James Fleming, author of Beat Cellulite Forever. "Some creams work by tightening the skin, but don't penetrate any deeper. As to how gingko and caffeine, the 'active' ingredients in PerfectSlim [the main ingredient is, of course, Aqua] reduces cellulite, I don't know."

So why is PerfectSlim apparently selling one tube every four seconds in Boots? Its advertising is certainly clever, featuring a quote from The Independent: "PerfectSlim ... reduced the circumference of women's thighs by up to two centimetres in two weeks." But that quote isn't, as is implied, the result of a product test by a cynical, smart beauty journalist, but from a news reporter who was simply repeating the findings of a French consumer test.

L'Oreal's own research, trumpeted on the packaging, that "89 per cent of women agree that it improves tone", is impressive until you read the small print that only 24 women were tested.

If you are treating large areas, you can expect to use up one tube a fortnight. "But stop using it and your legs will go back to how they were," says Dr Fleming. At £10.99 a tube, PerfectSlim is doing wonders for L'Oreal's bottom line, unfortunately it probably won't work a miracle on yours.